Author
Topic: [Act 1, Scene 2] Last Stop Hogwood (Read 208 times)

As the sunlight spreads across the rooftops of the sleepy village of Hogwood, the intrepid group of adventurers set out following the trade route Qaron knows all too well.

[1 hour]

[2 hour]

[3 hour] Just about when the town is settling in for their morning breakfast, the group sees a lone figure traveling the roads toward the town. Even from this distance they can tell it is a Greater Mahen of considerable size, riding what appears to be a giant badger.

** You figure you have another hour before you get to the caravan attack site.

As you get closer, you can see the creature would be at least 11 feet tall, if he was standing on the ground. On top of the badger, he reaches 15 feet in height. He is leaning against a large two-handed sword, for balance, that looks almost small in his grasp. His clothes, while minimal, are sun bleached.

Both he and the mount look like they have been in several fights, that they may not have won.

"It is good to see fellow travelers, especially after the scene I just witnessed."

is relieved that the Mahen does not seem to be hostile. Gods, what a beast, he thinks. I would not relish fighting him with this rabble.

"Good day!" Ammon returns the greeting heartily. He gestures to where his group is preparing breakfast. "Would you like to breakfast with us? And tell your tale? News of the road is always welcome, even if it is not encouraging."

Red stares at the enormous warrior and the equally enormous badger. He wonders how you could even train a badger to let you ride it, given their temperament. Are enormous ones more docile, he wonders? Somehow he doubts that.

Realizing he's staring again, he closes his mouth and focuses. Is this warrior alright? It looks like he's been in battle, but is he the worse for it? Does it look like he need a healer's attentions?

notices Jay’s unease, and raises an eyebrow. He catches her eye and gives her a questioning look.

It takes a moment but Jay notices Ammon and moves to his side, "I'm sorry ... that thing" meaning the giant badger, "just bothers me ... just shouldn't be." It sounds for a moment she growls under her breath.

nods, unsure what he can do about her concerns. He does not want to provoke the giant rider or the monstrous beast, with an untested band of warriors, and so silently gestures for Jay to remain steady.

Well, we can definitely eat," the Mahen says with a chortle, laughing at perhaps an inside joke. His wide grin is very unnerving.

The badger hisses. Not something out of fear or anger, but just a noise. The Mahen places his hand on the back of the badgers neck and ruffles its fur, then replies, "No, no, Honey, they want to eat with us."

As you study the Mahen, two things come readily apparent: first, his wounds are not recent. And, while paying closer attention to his battle scars, you can tell, he's not just a big pile of fur. The hair does not grow back in certain areas, along the scars, revealing a very muscular torso beneath. He would be a very formidable opponent, indeed.

The badger lowers its head, and the Mahen dismounts. "Just give the cat some room.... yes, I think it's feral, too. I'm sure we will be alright... just give it a wide berth."

"Sorry about that, Honey can get a little touchy at times."

The Mahen takes a pack from the rear of the badger and starts taking out food as he describes the caravan scene. "About an hour south of here there looks to be the remnants of a small caravan that looks like it was attacked by a number of Orcs. You can tell by the footprints, and there were a lot of them. There were several bodies. I would hate to have been the one in charge of that carnage."

Red shrugs, and steps to the side of the road and slips his own pack off. He opens it up, and pulls out some bread and cheese. The Mahen is clearly an experienced warrior, but Red didn't see any cause for disagreement. He wondered why the warrior was here, but Hogwood did see all kinds. Hopefully, he'd know something more about the orcs.

"I get tired of dried apples, but I did bring extra figuring others might not be. Anybody want some? How about you stranger? Dried apple for you or Honey? I'm Red, by the way."

"I don't know about any survivors, I assume there would be about a dozen or so, considering the tracks heading toward town. The Orcs probably had ten times that many. They are heading roughly South East. Even an inexperienced tracker could follow them. They are a lot of them and are traveling at speed, not even trying to be stealthy about it."

"Mmmm... yes, apples, I haven't had those in years." He takes a few, you can see he has to concentrate when doing anything as delicate as taking a few. He absently tosses one over his head and the badger raises up and snatches it in midair.

"The name is Gorrmun, and the badger behind me is Honey. We are on our way to Hogwood. Where are you traveling to?"